Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 669: Engulfed

Chapter 669: Engulfed

Within a shallow gorge not too far from the Grim Forest which remained closed off from external forces, a low hum echoed consistently, almost as though something was charging up.

The next moment, a rip in space emerged, and out of it, a strange being in a large brass suit, almost reminiscent of divers from Earth, emerged.

The brass suit was covered in black splotches, corroding it at a rapid rate, forcing the person within to swiftly take it off, revealing his identity to be the Fixer, donning a jumpsuit with a backpack.

His aged physique seemed to have undergone a bit of a reversal as he appeared no longer as a man in his sixties, but instead as one in his late thirties.

The suit he had taken off was quickly consumed by the black splotches on it, transforming into a crystalline substance that reminded one of Quillion.

Behind, the rip in space rapidly closed, though this didn’t seem to bother the Fixer as he expected it.

Instead, he took out a rather odd-looking compass and began to use it to locate something.

The lone needle within the contraption moved across several icons on the compass before landing on one in particular.

The Fixer’s expression shifted as he confirmed the icon the needle was pointing at.

The icon appeared as a grotesque landscape filled with protruding tentacles.

"The Abyss." The Fixer muttered with a disgusted look on his face.

To think that he would have to make a journey to that twisted land.

A rather unfortunate turn of events.

But, for his goddess, he would not hesitate to delve into the Negative Zone if he had to.

And so, he turned the knob at the side of the compass after which a dull golden glow devoured him.

When the light disappeared, the Fixer was gone along with it.

***

It started off as a low rumble, causing Alex to awaken from his slumber just in time to watch as Victoria scanned the area, having also detected the rumble.

"Something is coming." She said with a hint of unease.

Alex struggled to his feet. "What?"

"It could be anything. We might have to move."

Taking a deep breath, Alex snapped, but nothing happened, causing him to click his tongue in apparent disappointment.

"What are you doing?"

"Trying to reach out to Elena and no, I can’t."

"The infected wound?"

"We have to deal with it as soon as possible."

Victoria nodded. "We should go."

Just then, the rumbling suddenly spiked, reaching the levels of a minor earthquake.

The next moment, Victoria and Alex simultaneously glanced towards the left side of the gorge they were in, just in time to watch as several mammoths charged out from a bend in the gorge, quickly closing in on them.

"Run!" Alex exclaimed with Victoria picking him up before hurrying off in the opposite direction.

After more than a minute of running, they were quickly met with an end to the gorge but this didn’t stop Victoria as she climbed out with ease, quickly arriving above ground.

"What was that about?" Alex asked as he got back on his feet.

Victoria shook her head. "I don’t know but..."

She trailed off as her gaze locked on to an approaching dust storm... or at least that was what it appeared to be until she got a good enough visual.

"A mobile city." She muttered just as several flashing lights emerged from the approaching mechanical behemoth.

Alex clicked his tongue. "Let’s go!"

Immediately, the two fled just as several cannonballs slammed into the area, destroying everything in a terrifying display of what gunpowder was capable of.

"That explains a lot," Alex muttered, having the faintest of ideas why the mammoths had stumbled on their location and had appeared to be in a panicked state.

He had a feeling the mobile city was carrying out a hunt and they, unfortunately, just had to be caught in the middle.

"We should keep moving," Victoria said with Alex nodding in agreement.

The outback was a tad bit too dangerous to be moving about in his current state.

And so, Victoria placed his arm over her shoulder after which they continued on their search for civilization.

***

"Damn it, stay away!" Ulysses exclaimed as he tried to make evasive maneuvers with the submarine, dodging the terrifying insectoid creatures seeking to rip apart his vehicle and devour him.

Unfortunately, they were persistent, and the submarine was not small enough to perfectly execute the evasive maneuvers and so Ulysses watched as the durability of the vehicle was tested time and again until it could hold no longer.

A blaring sound echoed as the hull of the submarine was breached, allowing a few of the insectoids to gain access to the ship.

Ulysses cursed as he wondered why they were attacking him and why they were so persistent.

He had been careful not to go too close to any of the floating islands and he hadn’t dared to make too much noise.

Alas, even that was not enough to allow him to avoid such a troublesome predicament.

Now, faced with insectoids that ranged from being as small as a mosquito to as large as a moose, Ulysses wondered if he would be dying before he got a chance to meet with the Lord of Flesh and Blood.

Of course, he wasn’t about to give up that easily as he pulled out a mystical card from the depths of space.

Perhaps it was because he was in the Abyss, but Ulysses felt stronger and his Authority seemed to surpass his Lock.

In any case, he channeled his spirituality into the card and instantly, the insectoids began to implode, covering the insides of the ship in various colored hues of blood.

Albeit nauseating, Ulysses continued to push forward, ripping through the insects with one card... at least until he graduated from seeing the mosquito and maggot sized critters to meeting one that was as large as an eagle.

They exploded, but with each explosion came the spreading of a flammable gas that was soon ignited by the next one to explode.

Within moments, Ulysses was engulfed by a malicious purple flame.